Kenshin Himura (緋村 剣心)
Date of Birth: June 20, 1849
Nicknames: Hitokiri Battousai (Battousai the Manslayer) or Himura Battousai
Age: 28
Height: 158cm
Weight: 48kg
*** Some Spoilers Ahead***
Kenshin Himura, also known throughout the anime as Hitokiri Battousai (Battousai the Manslayer) or Himura the Battousai is the main character of the anime series Rurouni Kenshin. His original name was Shinta (心太). His parents died of cholera when he was very young and as a result, was adopted by three slave women in a traveling slave wagon. Soon after meeting them, bandits had raided the convoy and killed his three new guardians and where about to kill him when Seijuro Hiko killed the bandits. Hiko soon adopted the child and because Shinta was not a name fitted for a swordman, he renamed him Kenshin, meaning "Heart of Sword," took him under his wing and taught him the Hiten Mitsuruugi Ryu.
Kaoru Kamiya (神谷 薫)
Age: 17
Birthday: June, 1862
Height: 155cm
Weight: 41kg
Blood Type: O
Affiliations: Kamiya dojo, Kamiya Kasshin-ryū
The primary instructor of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū fighting style developed by her late father, Kamiya Koshijirō, Kaoru inherited a small dojo from her father after he was killed during the Seinan War and operates it by herself. Naturally, she is independent, possessive, compassionate, courageous, feisty, strong-willed, and a great fighter to boot- with only the occasional mood swing. Kaoru is also known for her cooking disliked by her friends and family and her ability to see the good in others.
Sanosuke Sagara (相楽佐之助)
Age: 19
Sagara Sanosuke left home at an early age to join the Sekihō Army (Sekihō-tai), leaving behind his father (Kamishimoemon), his mother (Naname), and his younger sister (Uki) who adored him. He would return home years later to discover that his mother was dead, having died a couple of years after the birth of his younger brother, Ota, who immediately began to admire Sanosuke for his bravery and boldness. Sanosuke would also find out that his family name was now Higashidani, although he would never use it himself. His sister, after Sanosuke's disappearance and then her mother's death, became overprotective of her younger brother and father, who worked as a local merchant and farmer with the infamy of being a local fighter. Ota, after Sanosuke leaves his family again, would eventually follow his brother's advice and train at the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū style dojo to become strong.
The Sekihoutai fought for the imperial alliance at the end of the Tokugawa regime and Sanosuke admired his captain, Sagara Sōzō and took the family name Sagara from him. The Sekihō Army were on assignment to spread word of the halving of taxes proclaimed by the revolution. However, when the revolutionary government encountered financial problems, they labeled the Sekihoutai as frauds to bury their promises. This setup was engineered by Shindō Tatewaki, a former officer in the imperial alliance. The Sekihoutai were designated scapegoats and to be executed; Sanosuke was the only survivor, other than his friend Tsukioka Katsuhiro. The exact circumstances of Sōzō's death differ between the animated version and the manga; in the manga Sanosuke realized he had been killed after seeing his decapitated head on display as a warning, while in the anime a wounded Sōzō pushed Sanosuke to safety off a cliff in order to save him before dying himself.
Full of anger and bitterness, Sanosuke made a living as a fighter-for-hire who bore the nickname "Zanza" derived from his weapon, the zanbatō. Sanosuke's sword, the heaviest katana ever made in the Rurouni Kenshin universe, originates from the Ōnin Struggle. Due to wear the blade no longer has an edge. Sanosuke uses the sword to smash and crush.
Hiruma Kihei and Gohei hire Sanosuke to kill Himura Kenshin, but after the former assassin defeats Sanosuke and Sanosuke learns of the truth of Kenshin's no-kill approach, Sanosuke becomes a valuable ally. He later adopts a boxing-like fighting skill, known for the strength of his right fist. Because the zanbatō broke during the fight, Sanosuke no longer wields it on a regular basis, using only one more time in the manga to defend the Kamiya dojo during the Jinchu arc.
At the end of the manga series, Sanosuke leaves Japan to avoid becoming wrongfully arrested and travels the world. He is not heard from until five years later during a reunion of the Kenshin-gumi, in which he tells them via a letter that he is in Mongolia and will stay there for a while before heading back to Japan.
Yahiko Myojin (明神弥彦)
Yahiko is a samurai descendant. Yahiko's father died during the Battle of Ueno during the Boshin War, slain at the Keneiji Temple. His mother died of syphilis in a brothel to put food on their table not long after giving birth to her son. Yahiko was originally forced to live as a thief for the local Yakuza, who tricked him into believing that he still had to pay off the money the gangsters gave to his mother to buy medicine. With the help of Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru, he becomes an apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu style.
Yahiko has a friend/rival, Tsukayama Yutaro and a sweetheart, Sanjo Tsubame, who works at Akabeko.
Megumi Takani (高荷恵)
Megumi is the youngest daughter of Takani Ryūsei, a well-known doctor in Aizu which was an important province supporting the Tokugawa Shogunate. During the Boshin Wars, Megumi's father died and the rest of her family went missing, leaving her as the sole survivor.
Misao Makimachi (巻町操)
Misao is a fairly skilled ninja from the Oniwabanshū clan of onmitsu previously based in Edo. Her weapons of choice are the kunai. Misao is about sixteen years old when she is first introduced, though she appears younger.
Misao is the granddaughter of the former okashira of the Oniwabanshū. She was in the care of the last leader of the Oniwabanashu Shinomori Aoshi until Aoshi, Han'nya, Shikijō, Beshimi, and Hyottoko left her to Kashiwazaki Nenji, also known as Okina of the Oniwabanashu, when she was eight. She and Okina had a strong bond, though in Misao's mind, Aoshi remained the best. She also had a special affection for Han'nya, who was always the one to take care of her and taught her how to fight. When she heard that Aoshi was in Tokyo, she went to search for him and runs into Himura Kenshin on the way back to Kyoto.
Misao is a fairly skilled ninja from the Oniwabanshū clan of onmitsu previously based in Edo. Her weapons of choice are the kunai. Misao is about sixteen years old when she is first introduced, though she appears younger.
Misao is the granddaughter of the former okashira of the Oniwabanshū. She was in the care of the last leader of the Oniwabanashu Shinomori Aoshi until Aoshi, Han'nya, Shikijō, Beshimi, and Hyottoko left her to Kashiwazaki Nenji, also known as Okina of the Oniwabanashu, when she was eight. She and Okina had a strong bond, though in Misao's mind, Aoshi remained the best. She also had a special affection for Han'nya, who was always the one to take care of her and taught her how to fight. When she heard that Aoshi was in Tokyo, she went to search for him and runs into Himura Kenshin on the way back to Kyoto.
Hajime Saitou
Saitou Hajime is the leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi and a master of the left hand sword technique. He is silent and a taciturn but also very loyal, polite and wise. He often analyzes the situation before attacking to figure out which actions are necessary to complete the mission.
Saitou Hajime is the leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi and a master of the left hand sword technique. He is silent and a taciturn but also very loyal, polite and wise. He often analyzes the situation before attacking to figure out which actions are necessary to complete the mission.
Aoshi Shinomori (四乃森 蒼紫)
Shinomori Aoshi was raised a ninja of the Oniwabanshū, who worked for the Shogunate government during the Edo period. He helped to raise Makimachi Misao from childhood as a member of the Oniwabanshū.
After the revolution, since a few members of the Oniwabanshū were unable to adapt to life in the Meiji era, Aoshi and these members worked for the corrupt, power-hungry business man, Takeda Kanryū instead. Aoshi's subordinates included Beshimi, who specialised in darts and poison; Hyotoko, whose name literally means "Fire Man" and uses flint-and-steel teeth to breathe fire; Han'nya, a skilled martial artist, deft ninjutsu practitioner and Aoshi's student; and Shikijou, a "muscle man".
Aoshi himself remains an enigma. He rarely (if ever) shows emotions in or out of a battle. His weapon in the beginning of the series involved only one kodachi (in combination with martial arts). However, after his defeat at Himura Kenshin's hands at Kanryu's mansion, he dedicated himself fully to revenge for the sake of his fallen comrades. When Aoshi next appears, he uses double-kodachi, and seems to have fully disregarded his emotions in order to kill Himura.
They fight at Shishio Makoto's mansion in order to settle the score, and upon the battle's break, Aoshi realizes where he went wrong, and becomes somewhat of an ally.